After splitting its first two games this spring, the Cicero-North Syracuse softball team would take the measure of the reigning Section III Class B champions from Marcellus.
And the Northstars didn’t have any problems at the plate against the Mustangs. The issue was that it could not hold on to a late lead and lost by a score of 10-9.
C-NS quickly went in front with three runs in the first inning off Marcellus pitcher Aubrey Fraher. A three-run third inning followed, plus single tallies in the second, fourth and sixth.
All of this gave the Northstars a 9-6 lead, but the Mustangs pulled even in the bottom of the sixth, the key blow Emma MacLachlan’s two-run home run, before winning it in the seventh when Elaine Grattan drove home the decisive run.
Aubrey Coyle doubled twice and scored twice, while Riley Barrett went four-for-five and scored three runs. Tahlia Gerardi’s trio of singles led to three RBIs as Danielle Filapello drove in two runs. Sydney Putkammer and Bella Julian had one RBI apiece.
Perhaps this game had a long-term effect because C-NS lost, 22-6, to Camden two days later, with the Blue Devils scoring 17 total runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings led by Jadyn Prievo’s four hits and five RBIs. Coyle led the Northstars with two hits and an RBI as Filapello, Gianna Richer, Megan Johnston, Sydney Nesci and Eva Farone each drove in one run.
This happened as Liverpool took on Fayetteville-Manlius in its league opener at Carrier Park and, with Cassie Wiggins at the forefront, the Warriors edged the Hornets 3-2.
Not only did Wiggins pitch a complete game holding F-M to four hits while striking out nine, she also singled three times and drove in a pair of runs. Olivia Coleman and Gracie Zankowski also scored runs.
With Thursday’s game against West Genesee postponed, Liverpool looked ahead to a Saturday doubleheader at Victor which featured both the host Blue Devils and Section VI’s Williamsville North.
The Warriors would lose both games, falling 5-1 to Victor as it managed just five hits against the Blue Devils, two of them by Julia Wike. Wiggins singled and scored her team’s lone run.
Against Williamsville North, Liverpool got plenty of runs, yet still lost 14-9. Wike went three-for-three, scoring twice and getting a pair of RBIs, while Lauren Ragonese had an RBI and Wiggins scored twice.
Much closer to home, C-NS got a much-needed 13-4 win over Rome Free Academy where it scored in every inning except the third, using a five-run fourth and four-run fifth to break it open.
Nesci’s home run was one of three hits she earned. Every Northstars batter got at least one hit as Filapello doubled, singled twice and got four RBIs, with Nesci, who scored four times, and Coyle each driving in two runs.
